"The Girl You Left Behind" Review

Hello to all of you lovelies! So I'm a little behind, but it took me a little longer to finish my most recent book (longer than anticipated). However because I am a annoyed with myself for missing an entry, I'm going to double up this week. 

I have recently finished "The Girl You Left Behind," written by Jojo Moyes. Now for those who have read her other works, "The Girl You Left Behind" follows a similar emotional roller coaster. The reader follows the lives to two young women, separated by time and space--nearly a hundred years-- but connected by their determination to fight and survive.

We begin in 1916, in the midst of a German, occupied France during World War I. We are introduced to Sophie Lefevre, the wife French artist Edouard Lefevre, who is also the matriarch of her family (although she is the second oldest). While the war is progressing, Sophie's small town falls into German hands and Sophie and her sister are forced to feed and serve the German soldiers that occupy her town. The soldiers strip the town and the hotel that Sophie's family owns, of all of their comforts--everything from art and literature to furniture and blankets are taken from their rightful owners. While Sophie struggles to feed and keep her family healthy, she slowly earns the unwelcome attention of the local Kommandant--or really a portrait of Sophie does. The Kommandant becomes memorized by the painting done by Edouard Lefevre. But this attention, will force Sophie to risk everything she holds dear--her family, her reputation, her husband and her life. Yet, she is willing to give up everything if it means she can see her husband one last time, and she 
does.

A hundred years later, the portrait of Sophie Lefevre is still captivating people. One in particular is a young woman named Liv Halston. The portrait is given to Liv by her late husband, as a wedding gift. And after the crushing death of Liv's husband, there are few things that actually bring joy to her life--the portrait is one of those items. It conjures up memories of their honeymoon, moments they shared together and most importantly it reminds Liv of the loved they shared. But now it's been four years since Liv's husband past away, and she finds herself in a completely different life situation than she ever thought possible. Her once secluded and reserved life, has morphed into one full of chaos and unpredictability. 

After four years of denying affection, Liv randomly meets Paul-- an ex- New York detective that now hunts down lost/stole artifacts and returns them to the legal owners. And as if over night, Liv and Paul find a camaraderie with one another, which blossoms into something more. Unfortunately the closer Liv and Paul become, the more trouble falls in their wake. After spending the night together, Paul sees the Sophie's portrait titled "The Girl You Left Behind," for the first time-- but it just so happens to be the latest case Paul is working on. It is his job to procure the portrait and return it to the Lefevre family.

This chance encounter reveals the painting's true origins and it's financial worth (which is substantial). And soon a battle begins between Liv and the Lefevre family, putting Paul directly in the middle and in the line of fire. He was hired to get the portrait back, but he has come to realize how important and meaningful the painting is to Liv, and Liv has become exceptionally meaningful to Paul.

Liv on the other hand is putting herself into financial ruin, in order to keep the painting. Legal fees and discovering/ legitimizing the painting's province is a costly endeavor, not to mention Liv was already broke before the case began. However the struggle to find out who is the legitimate owner is, testing Liv's beliefs on what is right and what is wrong. Sophie's portrait has a dark, passionate history-- filled with sacrifice and lose, which only makes Liv want to keep it more. Liv loves the portrait for what it represents and it's unique beauty. The financial worth means very little to her.

But the fact that Paul is on the opposing side, the side trying to take one of the last remaining pieces of her marriage away-- she finds it difficult to trust him. Even though, Paul is an honorable man with no alternative agenda, other than just wanting Liv to be happy and secure. 

As I was reading, I found myself becoming quite annoyed with Liv. As I have said before, in real-life I am incredibly rational and I find it difficult to relate to characters that do not have "flight" response. I believe it is a part of our human DNA to have an element of self-preservation, but Liv was willing loose her home, loose all of her money and security to fight a battle that she would have historically lost. If it wasn't for Paul (of all people) who sacrificed his career and looked for hidden clues, Liv would have lost everything. However the romantic in me, loves the idea of sacrificing for love and art.

Also, "The Girl You Left Behind" toggles between several different points of view. We are given Liv's, Sophie's and Paul's perspective-- which gives the audience more insight into the "behind the scenes" story, as opposed to what each character reveals to other people. And I believe that might be one of the reasons I became so annoyed with Liv-- because we the readers, knew Paul was an upstanding man, with the purest intentions-- who was put in an impossible position, however Liv did not always acknowledge Paul's character. 

Though Liv's storyline was the primary focus, I found myself drawn to Sophie's life more. I found Sophie's life path was incredibly three- dimensional, vivid and full of emotion. I could feel her struggles and I was routing for her survival, while Liv's world felt empty. Her friendships and relationships seemed forced, and aspects in her life seemed like they were added in just to create more (unnecessary drama)-- for example Liv's father was not "all there," and his wife kept leaving him, which made Liv be the voice of reason to her father's emotional troubles. Also Moyes did such a beautiful job crafting the relationship between Sophie and Edouard,  and Sophie and her sister, but I felt that the contemporary relationships lacked some tangible qualities.  

"Just for carrying on really. Sometimes, my darling girl, that's heroic in itself."

 Overall I would recommend this novel. However, I do feel like you need to be in the right mind-set to really enjoy the journey. At times it is incredibly sad, other times I felt myself cringe because the details were so clear, I could picture the events unfolding right in front of my eyes. But it is not all doom and gloom, there are moments that were slightly more light-hearted. Because "The Girl You Left Behind" is not what I would call a "happy" novel, I do think it is important to be prepared for some violence, some graphic descriptions and definitely some tears.  

What do you think? Have you read the book? How would you react to the discovery of stolen art? Would you have gone to court over a painting?  Let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

For now, I say good night and hope that the my random ramblings have peeked your inner bookworm. 

~BL